What is law enforcement’s fair share of county’s budget?

Nancy Flake

Published 7:00 pm, Monday, October 25, 2010

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What is law enforcement’s fair share of county’s budget?

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Even though it’s budget grew by 81.5 percent from 2005-10, the annual budget for the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office remains a battleground between those who believe the funding should be higher and those who would like to see more funding but don’t want to raise taxes.

Among those who are on opposite sides of that battle are County Judge Alan B. Sadler and his opponent in the Nov. 2 election, Adrian Heath.

But their views are indicative of a philosophical split between law enforcement, who believe protecting residents is the primary function of the county, and elected officials trying to balance all the county’s needs with a tight budget.

County commissioners approved a $236.26 million balanced budget for fiscal year 2010-11, while keeping the tax rate at 48.38 cents per $100 property valuation for the third year in a row.

The balanced budget and stable tax rate didn’t come without some pain. Sheriff Tommy Gage requested an overall budget of $61.37 million (up from $48.89 million the previous year) that included hiring 25 additional patrol deputies to the current 377 total certified officers at the MCSO, including 198 patrol deputies. The Sheriff’s budget includes the budget for the jail.

Gage didn’t get the increase but did receive $268,000 for overtime and the funding of a step-scale pay program in his $50.05 million budget.

Has law enforcement in Montgomery County received its fair share of money over the years?

“I think they have, but it’s never enough,” said Sadler, a Republican who has served as county judge for 20 years. “We always prioritize law enforcement, and our numbers reflect that. There’s nothing I would like more than to add 50 more deputies on the street and give raises to these guys who put their lives on the line every day.

“The whole (commissioners) court reflects that.”

But Heath, an Independent, believes funding for law enforcement should come at the expense of cutting funding from other areas such as the library system, animal control and development of the Lone Star Executive Airport, he has previously said.

“The priorities must be law enforcement, courts and public records,” he said Monday. “I would never use the term ‘fair share;’ it’s not an issue of fairness. Governments are not in the business of being fair.”

Gage did not return repeated calls for comment.

From 2005-10, the MCSO budget has gone up at a higher rate than that of the entire county budget, reflecting the highest increase for one county department.

And even though the county’s population has grown tremendously - 52.4 percent from 2000 through July 2009, according to the U.S. Census Bureau - it still hasn’t grown as much as the Sheriff’s Office budget.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Ed Chance said he is “very comfortable” with the funding for law enforcement.

“The crime rate has gone up slightly, and so has the population, but the needs of the county overall have to be met,” he said. “I’m personally satisfied with the funding.”

During their meeting Monday, commissioners approved a budget amendment of $500,000 to provide a 2 percent cost-of-living salary increase in the step-scale program for all commissioned officers. The amendment also provided another 2 percent merit raise for MCSO commissioned officers who have served more than 16 years of continuous service.

Members of the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Association endorsed Heath because they were angry over the lack of raises and new law enforcement positions, said Steve Dresel, president of the approximately 300-member organization.

“We are not comparable to other departments this size,” Dresel said before the budget amendment. “The step-scale was not funded at all. It’s not until dire times that we get it. We don’t have the people we need, and the only new law enforcement we’ve seen paid for are in The Woodlands.”

The Fraternal Order of Police Local 99 chapter, made up of local, state and federal law enforcement officers, also endorsed Heath for the same reasons.

At least one constable would like to see more law enforcement funding.

“I have asked for two people since I came into office,” Precinct 2 Constable Gene DeForest said. “I haven’t received anybody in 10 years. Am I disappointed? Yes, I am. I need to get people, I’ve got to have people, but I don’t get them.”

DeForest has nine officers, who spend a great deal of time serving civil process papers.

“My guys work overtime to get the job done,” he said. “I’ve got to have help. My guys have been run ragged. I understand our budget is tight. I would not want to be sitting up there trying to set the budget.

“It’s a tough job.”

Precinct 1 Commissioner Mike Meador said he “definitely” believes the county has fairly funded law enforcement.

“What’s enough? I don’t know,” he said. “Their budget has gone up. I think we’ve done the best we can do to fund law enforcement. Next year, we may have to raise taxes to get more law enforcement on the streets. We have to squeeze (the budget) pretty hard. It’s just a fact of life.”

Commissioners have “always given priority to law enforcement,” Sadler said. “There’s always room to fund more for law enforcement, and I think the numbers reflect that. But what we do every day in the court is balance the property tax rate with services.”